Hi there, I spend a lot of time past year figuring out what I want to do and become in my life. I have tried many different things like careertests, talking to councellors, volunteering and asking question but unfortunately I come to no results.
I’m looking with envy to young people that know already what they want when they are young. F.e doctors, nurses, construction workers and the police. How did you choose your current study/career? What was the process like and are you happy
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Different strokes, friend. Let’s see where those teens/young people are in 10-15 years time and how many of them stick with the decision they’re making now. It’s a meandering road for all of us in some way or another. I found my career completely by accident, having been completely directionless up until my early twenties.
Step 1: fuck around
Step 2: find out.
Go work a bunch of jobs and you’ll refine what you want.
Don’t compare your inner self to other people’s external presentations. You’ve really got no idea how set in their ways they are and for all you know, that dude who’s set on becoming a doctor today is a couple years from flunking out of school
A lot of people never really *pick* their career. They just take whatever jobs they can get, and eventually end up winding their way up a completely unplanned career path.
Im 25 year old and i decided i wanted to go into engineering.
In 9th grade i joined a course that instead of learning physics/computers/any other scientific subject i learnt practical engineering, but i studied an extra year where i went to college as well.
Fast forward about 6 years which involved enlistment as well, im now in my first pick university studying mechanical engineering.
Personally i went into practical just because i like machines and after the army i just decided that i will continue in the field since i knew i will be running in loops thinking about it all.
Overall i just decided it all half assed and im going into it to not lose myself.
Im always second guessing myself, but im going forward since i know how lost i will be if i wont do it
you’d be surprised how many people who look like they have it figured out actually have no clue
Because not everyone is the same. Some people just know what career they want, some people stumble into it, and some people struggle their whole life with it.
i’m 62, and i still haven’t figured out what i want to be when i grow up. but it’s okay…i’ve got time.
The secret is that a lot of them are wrong. They’ll find out later that they don’t want what they thought they wanted, and they’ll do something else, you just won’t hear about it. That’s what happened to me, and I just took the first adult job that came my way. I don’t like it, but I get by.
If you don’t know what you *want* to do, try to pick something that you *can* do and makes decent money.
My train of thought has always been: “What do I like most in this life? How can I take part in that?” For me it’s videogames. So at first I became a 3d artist, then a writer, then started working on my own games, etc. I’m happy with that.
Hard to say not knowing your age, but I would recommend starting anywhere and see what you like. There’ll be bits and parts of different jobs you like and loath and you’ll figure out what might make you happy.
Just because you think you are certain at a young age doesn’t mean you end up there.
In a way I think it is good to not be so certain so soon. Sometimes opportunities come up unexpectedly. Or once your older, your values change. Do you really want to put so much into med school, just to find out later that you enjoy making music or accounting or whatever.
I’m in my mid 20s and can tell you that almost all of my peers that had their shit together back as teens are totally lost lol
Life is a bitch and sometimes planning ahead doesn’t go your way, it’s okay to wing it and see what time bring you!
Don’t apply yourself any unnecessary pressure, just keep living day by day and make the decisions you think are right.
This is your world! We are all just living in it (:
If you don’t know what to do, look at what other people do and how they got there for inspiration. You can also sit down and write out what you want your life to look like in 5 years and then break down what you have to do to achieve these goals.
I think a big thing to consider is that those early ambitions are often not where the person ends up. Having a goal and working towards it is better than not having one, because it motivates a person to build up skills that might end up being transferable anyways, and if they do change goal, they will know themselves better (as in why the first option wasn’t great).
You don’t need to know, but you do need something to work towards.
Ask yourself “what are your values? what do you value? what are you good at? what constraints are in play?”
If you want someone to chat with about this send me a DM and I can ask some questions that might help narrow your options to the point where you can have an actionable plan.
Yeah sounds like you just need to experience life and learn more about life. Once you start experiencing shit you’ll be like “hey I like this”. Learned this about road trips lol
Been there done that. Trust me, not *everyone* knows already. Some do, a LOT fake it, some people like us just outright admit it and then have an existential crisis or two about it.
What I did was go into the work force directly after trying college for a semester and hating it. That was four and a half years ago, and after doing a ton of different shit I have found that I much prefer blue collar/manual labor to anything else. I am currently a maintenance man working for a nursing home.
I am paid a reasonable wage for my living situation(with parents) and cost of living in my area – $18.50/hr for 40hr/wk. I ain’t Mr. Moneybags but I’m doing pretty okay. After finding out what I like to do, it was much easier to form a real plan. Being a maintenance man is not a well paying career, so I have my sights set on welding school in the next two years. If that fails, HVAC.
Basically, try a bunch of different things for a period of 3-6mo each and when you leave each job, take a good look at what you did and did not like about that job. Eventually, you will find something you enjoy more than the others. So do that. Don’t listen to the “find a job you love” people because chances are you won’t. If you do, *great!* But find something that pays a reasonable amount of money, where you get along with your coworkers and bosses, and that brings you a sense of satisfaction and/or pride in your work at the end of the day. Going around helping out old folks by fixing their broken stuff all day brings me that sense of satisfaction.
To be honest, no one knows what the fuck they’re talking about. Per Google, 46% of college grads work in their field of study. Also, I think the whole “Do what you love” and the “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” is bullshit. The only people who say that are rich people and poor people.
In order to survive and provide for a family, you need to make money. Now there is some nuance where you can decide how much you’re willing to sacrifice to make money.
Here’s how I started to look at it:
What jobs/fields make a lot of money?
Do those jobs interest me?
Am I good at it?
Can I see myself doing any of these jobs for 5-10 years?
What is the transferrability of these roles?
What is the flexibility of these roles?
MOST people do not “love” what they do. Jobs are a means to an end and should be seen as such.
The best advice I can say is narrow down some general fields of study/careers and try to get some experience in each of those and see what you enjoy/interests you/you will be good at.
I couldn’t, but I muddled my way through the years to get to a job I liked by the very clever method of hearing someone talking about it one day, becoming curious and looking into it.
I made choices as a teen and practically none of those things came to pass. Making the decision didn’t mean it was gonna happen. Or if it does, I’m going to decide to wake up as a wizard of great cosmic power tomorrow.
Dont worry about it dude, i thought i was gonna be a graphic designer or go into game design. Quit college, went into teaching, quit that cuz i got suicidal.
Im cook now dude. A COOK thats like the last thing 19 yr old would have expected. And its actually fun.
You just gotta find out for yourself and its not always gonna go how you imagined it, if you can deal with that you’re gonna grow a lot.
Thats the secret. Not a ton of people are “happy” with their job. I’m good at being an accountant, it makes sense to me. I even derive a good amount of enjoyment for crafting workpapers that look and work great.
But it’s not something I’m happy doing.
Uninstall social media and be happy. Soon you’ll not be affected by this BS.
Facebook, Instagram, online dating apps is doing harms beyond repair to our society.
Honestly what worked for me was I picked a stable secure job. One I’m pretty sure I can get and one that will support me. The job I picked is not what I want in any way, the reason I picked it tho is because of the hours. So I can do my hobbies on the side. I don’t know if this is a negative way to look at it but I don’t think most jobs that pay good will be what you really want to do. Just pick a job that won’t kill you with hours and health and then on your own time do what you love. Like find your hobbies, take classes, use your money from your job to fuel your fun time. That’s my balance at least
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – John Lennon.
Who said you need to find one job that you love? Find a job that you are good at, that earns you enough money that keeps you comfortable. Then find other things, hobbies that fulfill your life. It took me over 20 years bouncing from job to job to realize this. I have a job now that I enjoy, that pays well, and I use my free time to do those things that will fulfill my life.
No one knows what they’re doing man, and half of them will be doing something different in 10 years
I think because millennials are stuck in between the old ways and new ways. We grew up thinking we needed a college degree and a 9-5. But kids these days can make millions doing stuff on the internet without a college degree.
I can’t say I know the answer because I did the college degree and 9-5 route. But I know there should be a balance between grinding and living a happy life. Working and having money is good so you don’t have to worry about paying bills but also find ways to enjoy life. Because no matter what job you do, it shouldn’t be your whole life.
Talking to people and listen to their experiences is pretty helpful.
Then, don’t be tied to an only ‘mission for life’, as there are many things and likely you’ll discover other interests and skills with time. Good luck!
PS: remember about me when you’ll be billionaire 😉
Everyone is winging it buddy
Because I’m a little dork, I like watching “Modern Marvels” on the History Channel. I always like hearing and seeing people do jobs I’ve never heard of. I myself worked jobs I’ve never heard of even though I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I was in high school.
Not to undermine your observations, but a lot of people don’t know what they want to be in school, and even less actually become it. Most people just don’t say anything. I graduated high school knowing for sure I want to be a teacher, but at one point of my life, I professionally repaired MacBooks as a job.
I would recommend continuing to try to see what’s out there. You’ve already volunteered and spoke to guidance counselors (which is great and you should continue to do), but also listen for different opportunities. People often skip over things that sound boring or they don’t think is them, but it very much could be.